Chapter 304

The position of Jiang Jiang Yucheng, which had been vacant for a long time, finally had a result.

The new Jiang Jiang Yucheng was surnamed Lei, in his early forties. He stood out among the many candidates; it was said that this person's aunt was once a wet nurse for a wealthy family, and his cousin had become a concubine for a wealthy family.

The wealthy family had influence in the Ministry of Justice and instructed their servants to pull some strings, so this lucrative position of Jiang Jiang Yucheng fell to the one surnamed Lei.

Before Warden Lei had officially taken office, his background and past experiences had already been inquired about clearly by the capable people in the Heavenly Prison.

"... In his early years, he was a rascal, later relying on his aunt's connections to work as a hanger-on for a wealthy family; he belonged to the type who could fight and had brains. He gradually gained trust and became a manager of a farm. During that time, he committed a few offenses, all of which were smoothed over. Later, he worked as a hanger-on in the yamen, became a constable, and then served as a petty official, doing quite a bit of dirty work."

"Originally, the job of Jiang Jiang Yucheng wouldn't have been his turn; it was a guy surnamed Huang. But the guy surnamed Huang had a bad habit: gambling. Before the list was announced, he got into a legal dispute at a gambling den. Everyone suspected that the guy surnamed Huang had been set up, but there was no evidence."

"The position of Jiang Jiang Yucheng in the Heavenly Prison is lucrative, and countless people are eyeing it. The guy surnamed Huang behaved improperly himself, giving others a chance to set him up, so he can't blame anyone."

"The guy surnamed Lei, as far as I know, didn't have the idea of competing for Jiang Jiang Yucheng at first. But the wealthy family behind him hoped he would come out and compete."

"Can a wealthy family even look down upon the job of Jiang Jiang Yucheng?"

"Why wouldn't they? An income of several thousand taels a year; if it were you, could you not covet it? Even a wealthy family wouldn't treat several thousand taels as dirt."

"Money is a small matter; the key is that the Heavenly Prison holds many imprisoned officials. These imprisoned officials are what are worth the wealthy family's attention."

Once these words were spoken, everyone looked at Chen Guanlou. He was the prison clerk of the A-grade prison; hehe, once Warden Lei took office, he would definitely focus on the A-grade prison.

Many people harbored thoughts of schadenfreude.

"The guy surnamed Lei also climbed up from the bottom; he is black-hearted and ruthless, not like Master Fan who has read books, and even less like Warden Niu who is an old hand in the officialdom and understands the rules. I'm afraid the guy surnamed Lei is not a person who follows the rules."

These words were actually meant for Chen Guanlou to hear.

Chen Guanlou's expression was calm, "Everyone, let's discuss how we should receive Warden Lei when he officially takes office tomorrow."

"Of course, the old rules. Does the prison clerk have any new ideas?"

"I don't have any new ideas. I just want to know if Warden Lei has a big appetite."

"Whether it's big or not, you'll only know after testing it. Prison Clerk Chen, you are a scholar; why don't you take the lead? We rough people are prone to saying the wrong thing and offending people."

"Fine!" Chen Guanlou did not refuse. Of the three prisons, the A-grade prison had the highest income. No matter who became the Jiang Jiang Yucheng, they would stare fixedly at the A-grade prison.

As the prison clerk of the A-grade prison, he was duty-bound to take the lead, weigh Warden Lei's worth, and find a balance point for getting along.

As for Master Fan, Chen Guanlou had sent someone to notify him.

Master Fan was busy with his restaurant business and stated clearly that everything in the A-grade prison would be handled by him on his behalf. As for welcoming the new Warden Lei, he would certainly show up and would certainly offer a gift. But he didn't want to deal with Warden Lei and hoped that Chen Guanlou could keep him out of it no matter what happened. Just as agreed upon initially, he only occupied one position and took his share of the money according to that position. He wouldn't ask about anything else.

Early the next morning, everyone changed into clean uniforms and stood in the courtyard, full of spirit, preparing to welcome Warden Lei.

The sun was high, but Warden Lei did not appear on time.

Everyone couldn't help but discuss it.

Xu Fugui leaned into Chen Guanlou's ear and nagged, "Do you guess the guy surnamed Lei is deliberately late to give us a show of power, or is there some other hidden reason?"

Chen Guanlou said, "A batch of prisoners will be sent over from the Ministry of Justice tomorrow. No matter what, Warden Lei will definitely take office today. Unless he doesn't want to be the Jiang Jiang Yucheng of the Heavenly Prison."

"If he doesn't want to be, there are plenty of people who are willing. If the people above favored me, I would be dying to sit in the position of Jiang Jiang Yucheng." Xu Fugui laughed, looking very smug.

Xu Fugui and the logistics group had been getting along well for the past two years. His grain and oil business had successfully broken into the logistics department; although he didn't have a monopoly, given the size of the Heavenly Prison, even if it was just a portion of the business, it was enough for him to be well-fed.

Because his business was booming, he had become increasingly wealthy, and his belly was becoming more and more robust, looking like it was six or seven months along. His chin was almost gone, his jawbone had disappeared, and his entire face was surrounded by greasy fat—a proper middle-aged greasy man.

"I heard Prison Clerk Xu has taken a new concubine; when are you inviting us to drink?" Chen Guanlou chatted casually.

Xu Fugui looked smug, "A country girl, besides being young and tender, she doesn't understand anything. I'll train her first; when she learns the rules, I'll invite everyone to drink and let her come out to meet you all."

"That would be great!" Chen Guanlou agreed with a smile.

"Little Chen, you're not young anymore; have you ever thought about marrying one? Could it be that you look down on those mediocre beauties? What kind of person are you looking for? Tell your uncle, and I'll be your matchmaker."

"No need to trouble Prison Clerk Xu." Chen Guanlou refused in one sentence, and Xu Fugui's face changed slightly, very dissatisfied.

"You used to call me uncle every other word, but now that your status is different, you won't even call me uncle. This human heart, it really is true that human hearts are not what they used to be."

Chen Guanlou sneered, "We are both prison clerks, and it's working hours; if I call you uncle, would you have the face to respond? If Prison Clerk Xu wants to mix public and private matters, I can't. Let's keep public as public and private as private. I appreciate your kindness, but I also ask you to give me some face. Mutual respect and living in harmony are better than anything else. If you refuse to give me face and insist on putting on the airs of an uncle, hmph..."

"What will you do?" Xu Fugui felt very embarrassed, but didn't have the guts to flip out on the spot, so he could only lower his voice and question him, hoping Chen Guanlou would lower his head first.

Chen Guanlou was about to reply when a prison guard who had been inquiring about the situation reported that Warden Lei had arrived.

And so, in an instant, everyone moved and went to the main gate to welcome him.

Warden Lei was unexpectedly a middle-aged, suave, and handsome man; compared to his resume, it really didn't match. On second thought, this fellow could gain the trust and support of a wealthy family; besides having means and being smart enough, he should have a face that people find pleasing to the eye. If he were ugly, the wealthy family probably wouldn't be happy to promote him.

Even when becoming an official in the court, one has to look at one's face; wealthy families certainly can't avoid this custom when employing people.

Just like the Hou Fu, from top to bottom, there wasn't a single ugly person; at the very least, their features were regular.

"Greetings, Warden!" Led by the prison clerks, everyone bowed in unison, welcoming the new Warden in a chorus. They had done the proper courtesies, the scene was grand enough, and they had given him enough face.